The Oxford Handbook of Mexican Politics

Roderic Ai Camp

Description

Since achieving independence from Spain and establishing its first constitution in 1824, Mexico has experienced numerous political upheavals. The country's long and turbulent journey toward democratic, representative government has been marked by a tension between centralized, autocratic governments (historically depicted as a legacy of colonial institutions) and federalist structures. The years since Mexico's independence have seen a major violent social revolution, years of authoritarian rule, and, finally, in the past two decades, the introduction of a fair and democratic electoral process.

Over the course of the thirty-one essays in The Oxford Handbook of Mexican Politics some of the world's leading scholars of Mexico will provide a comprehensive view
of the remarkable transformation of the nation's political system to a democratic model. In turn they will assess the most influential institutions, actors, policies and issues in its current evolution toward democratic consolidation. Following an introduction by Roderic Ai Camp, sections will explore the current state of Mexico's political development; transformative political institutions; the changing roles of the military, big business, organized labor, and the national political elite; new political actors including the news media, indigenous movements, women, and drug traffickers; electoral politics; demographics and political attitudes; and policy issues.

Part V: New Actors16. Democracy in the Newsroom: The Evolution of
Journalism and the News Media, Sallie Hughes17. Social and Indigenous Movements in Mexico's Transition to Democracy, Shannan Mattiace18. Human Rights and NGO's, Mariclaire Acosta19. Women and Grassroots Politics, Victoria E. Rodríguez20. Drug-Traffickers as Political Actors in Mexico's Nascent Democracy, John Bailey

Part VI: Electoral Politics and the Changing Political Landscape21. Changing Dimensions of National Political Elections, James A. McCann22. Mexico's Campaigns and the Benchmark Elections of 2000 and 2006, Jorge I. Domínguez23. The Return of "the Local" to Mexican Politics, Jonathan Hiskey

Part VII: Demographics and Political Attitudes24. Who is the Mexican Voter?, Alejandro Moreno25. Polling and Pollsters as Agents
of Change: An Historical Account of Public Opinion Research in Mexico from 1938 to 2010, Pablo Páras and Miguel Basáñez26. Regionalism in Mexican Electoral Politics, Joseph L. Klesner

The Oxford Handbook of Mexican Politics

Roderic Ai Camp

Author Information

Roderic Ai Camp is Philip M. McKenna Professor of the Pacific Rim at Claremont McKenna College and serves on the Advisory Board of the Mexican Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution. His books include Politics in Mexico (OUP 2006) and The Metamorphosis of Leadership in a Democratic Mexico (OUP 2010).

The Oxford Handbook of Mexican Politics

Roderic Ai Camp

Reviews and Awards

"Mexican politics are complicated, but they are not inexplicable. In this timely contribution, Roderic Camp has overseen a large-scale effort to decipher the rules and traditions of political activity in Mexico. To understand how Mexico came to this moment, this book of essays is indispensable. Policymakers on both sides of the border, students and professors, as well as the educated public with an interest in the region, would do well to take on this volume, to read and digest the deep learning of the contributors, and, by doing so, form a more coherent and intellectually honest vision of the future of Mexican politics." -- Mexican Studies